Truth and Theories of Truth

A Thesaurus of English Dialect and Slang

England, Wales and the Channel Islands

Jonnie Robinson

British Library, London

Description

A thesaurus of present-day vernacular English from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Channel Islands, this unique record of everyday English celebrates established regional dialects, emerging new varieties and colloquial forms young and old. Based on a prestigious nationwide survey, BBC Voices Recordings, it documents the linguistic landscape of England, Wales and the Channel Islands in the 21st century, and includes over 3000 separate entries, drawn from over 200 locations across the country. Each entry contains information about the term’s origins, location and the social distribution of its users. With links to original sound files and cross-references to complementary dictionary sources, it is an authoritative reference work for academic linguists, but its accessible presentation also makes it suitable for creative audiences and non-specialist language enthusiasts seeking authentic, up-to-date information on British English dialect and slang, and for English language teachers and learners as an invaluable educational tool.

Key Features

• Provides comprehensive coverage of entire lexical data captured in BBC Voices Recordings, presented in easily understandable language • All entries are mapped to existing reference works where available, signposting users to other resources that support additional lines of enquiry e.g. provenance, etymology, distribution etc • The thesaurus is based on freely available audio data. The complete set of corresponding sound recordings is available to stream worldwide at sounds.bl.uk

Contents

Preface: The Voices Project; Acknowledgements; List of Abbreviations and Transcription Conventions; Introduction; Part I. A Thesaurus of the BBC Voices Recordings in England, Wales and the Channel Islands: 1. How You Feel; 2. What You Do; 3. What You Wear; 4. What You Call Them; 5. Inside and Outside; 6. Getting Personal; Part II. An Inventory of the BBC Voices Recordings Survey in England, Wales and the Channel Islands: A. North East; B. Yorkshire and Humber; C. North West; D. East Midlands; E. West Midlands; F. East Anglia; G. South West; H. South East; I. London; J. Wales; K. Channel Islands; Bibliography; Index.

Additional Information

Level: Academic researchers, undergraduate students

July 2021 244 x 170 mm c.550pp 978-1-108-47323-1 Hardback £120.00 / US$155.00